How to Harvest Beets

Report This Article

How to Harvest Beets

Overview

After about 50 to 60 days, beets are ready to harvest. Not only can the roots be dug up and chopped to add flavor to a meal, but the greens of the beets can be harvested periodically and put in salads. Given how well these beets fare in different weather conditions, they can be grown several times in a summer.

Harvesting the Greens

Step 1

Wait until the greens have stopped growing.

Step 2

Gently twist the leaves off where the bottom of the leaf meets the rest of the beet stem.

Step 3

Wait for some of the leaves to grow back before cutting more of them.

Step 4

Gently wash the greens.

Step 5

Wrap the beet greens in plastic, then store them in a very cool area or within a refrigerator. Beet greens can be stored for one week before they spoil.

Harvesting Beet Roots

Step 1

Check the beet roots out after 40 to 50 days. Healthy beets should be one to two inches in diameter. They should also be tender instead of being hard.

Step 2

Push the tip of the soil scoop into the soil near the beet. If the soil is moist, digging the beet out shouldn't be too difficult. Keep digging and loosening the soil around the beet while gently pulling at the beet until you feel the roots loosen in the soil.

Step 3

Gently pull the root out of the soil. Clean off as much dirt as possible.

Step 4

Wash the freshly harvested beet root. Wait for the beet root to dry before storing it.

Step 5

Cut off the top of the beet two inches from the top of the root. Store the beets in plastic bags in the refrigerator. They should last for one and a half weeks.

Tips and Warnings

Do not trim the beet greens too often. The leaves of the beets absorb sunlight in order to give the rest of the beet nutrients in order to grow. Cutting the beet greens will stunt the beet root growth.
After the leaves on the beets have grown large, they will start to develop a strong flavor over time, but this isn't a problem if you like it.
Do not plant beets once heavy frost arrives.

Things You'll Need

Soil scooper

Plastic

References

How to Grow Beets

Harvesting and Storing Beets

Keywords:
harvest beets, soil scooper, beet greens

About this Author

Charles Pearson has written as a freelancer since 2009. He has a B.S. in literature from Purdue University Calumet and is currently working on his M.A. He has written the ebooks "Karate You Can Teach Your Kids," "Macadamia Growing Handout" and "The Raw Food Diet."